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Call for Papers

Individual Paper and Panel Proposals

**We are able to continue receiving proposals on a waitlisted (first come, first served basis) until 1 November at societygncs [@] gmail.com** Decisions on all proposals have been sent out. If you have not heard from us, please check your spam folder or contact us again. All proposals will receive a response with a decision.

Translation, Transposition, and Travel in the Global Nineteenth Century

 

The period between 1750 and 1914 was marked by change, motion, and mobility. Advances in transport and the expansion of imperial powers brought together an array of peoples and facilitated contact between different cultures. These cultural encounters spurred the discovery of new information and of efforts to transmit, mask, or contain it. Translation played a seminal role in informing the public about the changing world and its interconnections. Imaginative writings and scientific concepts were subject to transposition and adaptation across languages and cultures. Indeed, global modernizing processes were due, to some extent, to travel, translation, and transposition. 

 

For its third international symposium to be held in Kuwait from 16 to 19 January 2025, the Society for Global Nineteenth-Century Studies is pleased to invite proposals on the theme of “Translation, Transposition, and Travel in the Global Nineteenth Century.” We welcome proposals for papers and panels that explore transits between places, languages, cultures, and ideas. Topics may include (but are not limited to):  

 

  • Travel and adventure

  • Initiatic journeys

  • Travel narratives and nautical fiction

  • Pilgrimage

  • Slave trade and the forced movement of peoples

  • Circulations, transfers, and migrations

  • Nomadism

  • Problems in translation (e.g., political humour, the absurd, nonsense, etc.)

  • Exile and displacement

  • Explorers and expeditions

  • Science fiction

  • Intermedial translation

  • Steamers and trains

  • Colonization

  • Translation and life writing

  • Transfer of knowledge

  • Cultural transposition

  • Adaptation across cultures

  • Transmediality and transnationalism

  • Transfer and transmission

  • Texts and their contexts

  • Transposition in music

  • Transposition and translation

  • Travel maps and cartographies of navigation

  • Books as travelling objects

  • Photography, painting, and travel

  • Tourism and visual culture

  • Nomadic narratives

  • Translation and the discovery of new cultures

  • The re/discovery of ancient civilizations/Egyptomania

  • Translation and the discovery of European modernity

 

Individual paper proposals should consist of an abstract (200-250 words), brief biography (80- 100 words), and full contact information in a single pdf document or Word file. Panel proposals should include abstracts for 3-4 papers, a brief rationale that connects the papers (100-200 words), and biographies of each participant (80-100 words) in a single pdf or Word file. All proposals should include 3 to 5 keywords. 

 

Successful panel proposals will include participants from more than one institution, and, ideally, represent a mix of disciplines/fields and career stages. Although the working language of the conference is English, a limited number of slots will be available for presentations in Arabic and French.

 

Location and requirements

The symposium will be held at the Global Studies Center, Gulf University for Science and Technology, in Kuwait. Modern, prosperous, and safe, Kuwait boasts a unique cultural mix, a longstanding tradition of the theatrical arts, diverse cuisine, and some of the best beaches in the region. Presenters, panel chairs, and workshop participants must be current members of the Society for Global Nineteenth-Century Studies at the time of the World Congress. For more information on membership, visit www.global19c.com. Proposals and questions should be directed to the Program Committee: societygncs@gmail.com.

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